Any idea why ebay is giving away so much free money lately?

[vintagetoppsguy]

Originally Posted by brianp-beme

Someone in a previous thread mentioned that the end of March is the end of their fiscal year.

Brian

I don't understand that though. If they're giving 15% in eBay Bucks, but only collecting 10% FVFs (correct me if that number is wrong), it doesn't take a genius to figure that they're losing money.

[Slinger]

Maybe they just need a boost in gross revenue to hit targets for shareholders?

[D. Bergin]

Originally Posted by vintagetoppsguy

I don't understand that though. If they're giving 15% in eBay Bucks, but only collecting 10% FVFs (correct me if that number is wrong), it doesn't take a genius to figure that they're losing money.

They're also collecting 10% of shipping fees and collecting monthly store fees from sellers.

Also, it's not like they're giving away straight cash. You have to put those Ebay bucks back into the system eventually, which they get a cut of again.

A Temporary slight loss leader maybe, and an injection of short term cash for the stockholder report. I think they'll be fine.

We might not be though, when they take back their pound of flesh from sellers, when the next Ebay update comes out............whenever.

[rsdill2]

March is end of quarter so it's the end of your ebay bucks earning period. Seems like there's always good ebay bucks bonus promos at the end of a quarter. Don't count on having an ebay bucks promo again for a few weeks. They usually wait a few weeks after your ebay bucks is issued to have another bonus promo. I guess the thinking is they don't want you earning bonus bucks when you spend bucks.

But the XX% off any item is a new one for me. Not sure why they started offering it the last couple weeks. Definitely a great promo though and it's made me buy a few things I wouldn't have bought without it.

[Peter_Spaeth]

Originally Posted by vintagetoppsguy

I don't understand that though. If they're giving 15% in eBay Bucks, but only collecting 10% FVFs (correct me if that number is wrong), it doesn't take a genius to figure that they're losing money.

When you spend the ebay bucks they'll get 1.5 percent back, so the gap is smaller than that, but I am guessing they probably have determined there is a general stimulatory effect on sales with so many people looking for places to spend.

[Fballguy]

15% Coupon yesterday...10% eBay bucks today. They're dong wonders for my collection...but not my wallet.

Edit...And now another 15% coupon today as well. 10% eBay bucks on the app.

I wish there was more to choose from on Ebay right now. I'm scraping the bottom of the barrel on items.

[Peter_Spaeth]

What's the code on the coupon and is it capped?

[Leon]

My gut tells me that if we whittle down to the real reason, ebay might have good bottom line numbers but not top line. Give away a little margin for sales ....and yes, probably to try to please analysts and therefore shareholders. Regardless if that is the answer or not, the answer is always Money.

[aljurgela]

Originally Posted by Leon

My gut tells me that if we whittle down to the real reason, ebay might have good bottom line numbers but not top line. Give away a little margin for sales ....and yes, probably to try to please analysts and therefore shareholders. Regardless if that is the answer or not, the answer is always Money.

Managing earnings... trying to get people back to eBay

[jfkheat]

In addition to the buyer promotions, eBay is giving promotions to sellers too. A couple weeks ago I got one where the final value fee was capped at $20. I sold a $1000 card and paid $20 in fees.
James

[Jantz]

Ebay is also allowing some sellers the promo to list 100 auctions with no listing fee.

If an item is listed and it doesn't sell, it doesn't change your total. So if 50 of your 100 auctions don't sell, well then list 50 more auctions free.

[Luke]

There's another 15% promo today as well? I'm guessing that was a typo, but I hope not

[kmac32]

Originally Posted by Luke

There's another 15% promo today as well? I'm guessing that was a typo, but I hope not

It is on limited sellers so does not apply to everything

[Jenx34]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

When you spend the ebay bucks they'll get 1.5 percent back, so the gap is smaller than that, but I am guessing they probably have determined there is a general stimulatory effect on sales with so many people looking for places to spend.

Exactly. It's just part of their overall ad budget and strategy. They're running TV ads too, more than I remember a year or even 6 months ago. Last night, I spent $393 (before 15% discount). The threshold to max at the $50 mark was $333.33. I'm sure I'm not the only one that spent over that threshold.

The simplest answer is just advertising. This is one way they chose to do so. I hope they deem it as effective and keep doing so!

[packs]

Maybe they're able to classify the giveaways as "donations" for tax purposes.

[Peter_Spaeth]

Excellent point. Many people probably exceed the threshold and on the delta they are making their regular fee with no giveback.

[vintagetoppsguy]

Originally Posted by vintagetoppsguy

I don't understand that though. If they're giving 15% in eBay Bucks, but only collecting 10% FVFs (correct me if that number is wrong), it doesn't take a genius to figure that they're losing money.

Their stock is way down lately. I don't have the exact numbers, but maybe 10% over the last week? Who woulda thought it?

[Batpig]

The problem is they've created an environment now where people wait for these discounts to buy.